The Conscious Language Newsletter: August 2020

August 12, 2020

From the World of Conscious Language

Note: The authors’ viewpoints are not necessarily shared by Conscious Style Guide.

“An affirming provider should have inclusive gender options” on the intake form.

“When we publish so few children’s books with disabled main characters, we don’t offer young readers the opportunity to see themselves in the books they read, or encourage them to empathize with disabled people.”

“The best way to confirm a person’s pronouns is by asking or by introducing yourself with your pronouns, to give the person an opportunity to share theirs.” —“Pronouns Usage Among LGBTQ Youth,” Trevor Project survey

“Nextdoor says it’s starting a campaign to recruit more Black moderators, and will offer unconscious bias training to all current leads…The company says it will also improve the app’s AI systems to more accurately identify explicit racism and ‘coded racist content.’”

A handy roundup from Right Touch Editing.

“The capital W stresses ‘White’ as a powerful racial category whose privileges should be embedded in its definition.”

“‘People of color,’ by grouping all non-whites in the United States, if not the world, fails to capture the disproportionate per-capita harm to Blacks at the hands of the state.”

“Dictionaries can lag behind societal developments, and the idea that a ‘word’ indisputably ‘means’ what dictionaries say is simply sloppy.”

“Many educators and experts agreed that the use of a capitalized Black in textbooks only works if teachers explain its importance.”

“Some people’s objections to the phrase don’t stem from concerns about its racial implications. One definition of the word master is a male head of household, according to Merriam-Webster.”

“So what can engaged citizens, civic leaders, journalists and public officials do? First, they need to see the pattern and to name it.”

The central insight in Conflict Is Not Abuse is that “people experiencing the inevitable discomfort of human misunderstanding often overstate the harm that has been done to them…And overstating harm itself can cause harm.”

CSG in the News 

Karen Yin, founder of Conscious Style Guide, chats with editor Mark Allen on That Word Chat. They cover Conscious Style Guide and The Conscious Language Newsletter, the Editors of Color Database, kind and respectful language, AP vs. Chicago, children’s books, allyship, well-made T-shirts, and more. Watch now!

“Gatekeepers are also gate openers, and it’s this power to let through more of the things we want to nurture in this world that makes conscious editing and writing an act of compassion.” Thanks to Melanie Padgett Powers and Association Media & Publishing for this interview with Conscious Style Guide founder Karen Yin about inclusive language, style guides, and going beyond diversity.

“Talking about diversity is good. Including these speakers’ voices and expertise at your conference shows attendees you actually mean it.”

“Use words that honor humanity and power.”

From the Archives

 When Bias-Free Language Excludes | Conscious Style Guide

“Biased terms can be used to direct attention to a community, like Black Lives Matter. When the dominant narrative presents a partial view, we need biased language to promote visibility of the parts that have been pushed aside.”

In Case You Missed It

The latest addition to Conscious Style Guide‘s Ethnicity, Race + Nationality section is The National Association of Hispanic Journalists’s Cultural Competence Handbook. “Cultural competence” refers to “the ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints with respect.”

Read about racism in children’s classics and sports mascots, Orientalism in food writing, and the linguistic complications of the term BIPOC.

Expand Your Recruitment Channels 

The Editors of Color Database, a project of Conscious Style Guide, is a free service that connects employers and recruiters with editors, proofreaders, and sensitivity readers of color in the U.S. and Canada. Also home to the Database of Diverse Databases, now with 70 resources featuring underrepresented communities!

Transparent white strip on top of blood-red background has EDITORS {OF COLOR} knocked out. Below, reads "Tools for Diversifying Your Staff and Sources," followed by editorsofcolor.com.

Conscious Language in Fiction 

Follow @consciousstyleguide on Instagram for examples of how context can support sensitive content, with a focus on young-adult books and kidlit.

A 3x3 grid of Conscious Style Guide's Instagram feed.

The Conscious Style Guide newsletter rounds up the best news and blog posts from the world of kind, compassionate, mindful, empowering, respectful, and inclusive language. Note: Spotlighting an opinion is not intended as an endorsement. Please send news tips to [email protected].